The present unique work is is from Shirin Neshat's first and important body of work, produced between 1993-1997, a series of photographs titled "Women of Allah." This series works with conceptual narratives on the subject of female warriors during the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979. The artist turns the lens on herself and places herself in each of the portraits. Filled with symbolism, Neshat’s subject lays at the complex intersection of faith, gender politics, freedom of speech and violence. 
 
Speaking about the series, Neshat says, "As the artist, I took on the role of performer, posing for the photographs. These photographs became iconic portraits of willfully armed Muslim women. Yet every image, every women’s submissive gaze, suggests a far more complex and paradoxical reality behind the surface." (Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2012) 
 
In her dynamic artistic practice, Shirin Neshat (Iranian, b. 1957) addresses the complex intellectual and religious forces shaping the identity of Muslim women throughout the world. She is one of the most internationally acclaimed artists today, both as a photographer and a filmmaker. She has shown internationally at major institutions, with solo exhibitions most recently at the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., and MATHAF: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. She has been awarded several awards and grants throughout her career including the Silver Lion at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009. Her works are included in prestigious collections worldwide. She lives and works in New York.